Stargate

Rating:
Summary: One of the Finest Sci-fi Gems of the 90's.
Review: From the creators of Independence Day " Roland Emmerich" and " Dean Devlin" presents a Fascinating and Uniquely entertaining
Sci-fi Epic starring Kurt Russell and James Spader. The Story
deals with an ancient Alien Egyptian Ring that has been buried for centuries has been re-Discovered and sents a military group into another dimension filled with Egyptian-like aliens and other
bizarre creatures. Highly recommended if you love Independence Day.

Other similar movies i would suggest: The Fifth Element, ID4, Starship Troopers, Total Recall, Dark Crystal, Big Trouble in little China, The Mummy, The Mummy Returns, Spaceballs and Star Wars.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting and promising premise turned bland.
Review: First of all why 4 stars then? Because I like Sci-Fi and while having a History degree I found the Egyptology interesting.

Now then, a comment about the guy who doesn't like Letterboxing. Umm, dude! DVDs are made for Widescreen presentations! The letterboxing MAINTAINS the theatrical presentation. Unless your local theater has a 4:3 screen then you're missing at least a third of the picture by LOVING Pan'n'Scan. I hate to see what you're going to do when HDTVs are the norm in their 16:9 format. If anything I HATE watching movies in Pan'n'Scan because I KNOW that there is more picture there that I'm not seeing. I've been watching VHS widescreen versions for years now on a 27" and have no problem "tuning-out" the black bars. I have just bought a DVD player and a 32" Sony WEGA Trinitron and Widescreen hasn't looked better. One step down from HD.

But now back to the film itself. Stargate is about a circular gate that is a portal from one point in space to another through a wormhole. The portal in this film is one to a planet that apparently has simularities to Earth's Ancient Egypt. Except the Gods are aliens that have adopted ancient Egyption dieties for appearances. We have the pharoah-looking Sun God Rah, the jackal-looking Anubis, and the eagle-looking Horus. They also have cool looking skypods armed with the same energy weapon that the ground troops carry.

The film could have been better had the locale and culture of the people there on the alien planet been a little more dynamic. But at least it spawned a highly successful TV series where these alien worlds and story lines could be fleshed out more.

Rating:
Summary: hate letter boxing
Review: Really enjoyed the movie, but if you hate letter boxing as I do,this one is not for you. I really hate to see a 32 inch screen look like a 20 and no other option .

Rating:
Summary: Stargate
Review: The subject was fascinating, but military personnel were totally unbelievable in their behavior on a mission. And how many times must one crank a shell into their weapon? Visuals were good.

Rating:
Summary: A great movie to keep you on the edge of your seat!
Review: This is a great story with characters you can relate to and enjoy watching. The director & actors did a great job of filming this to look real. You'll be kept on the edge of your seat until the end of the movie. This movie was so well done that they were able to take the story and characters to create a great TV series out of it called SG-1 on showtime. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who loves action & science fiction films!

Rating:
Summary: Interesting Twist
Review: "Stargate" is a nice twist on the begining of a civilization (ours!) based on aliens, the mysteries of Egypt, and all those Gods they worshipped. James Spader is, as always, poised and controlled. In "Stargate" he is a scientist who has controversial views of the origins of the Pyramids in Egypt. He's recruited by the military to crack the code on a stargate to another civilization on the other side of the universe. With Kurt Russell, (who was not at his best in this movie) and a bunch of other military personnel they find themselves sucked into another world, one ruled by the evil Ra. Here the story begins to unfold of the "true" origins of all those gods, temples, pyramids and beliefs of the ancient Egyptians. The storyline moves nicely and the movie itself reminded me, in some ways, of Lawrence of Arabia, the Indiana Jones adventures, and "The Fifth Element". The visual affects are minimal, but they do get the point across. The set work is finely structured and elegant. All is all, Stargate is a good sci-fi movie from the early 1990's.

Rating:
Summary: New and Improved
Review: This movie's release has been hexed from the start. When the movie was released on Laser Disk, it had a sound problem that took 3 months to get it replaced. Then when it came out on DVD, it was a straight to DVD transfer, no special features, no enhancment of the quality and it was one movie that was split on both sides of the DVD. If I wanted that, I would have stayed with Laser. I have a copy of this new release, and it has special featuresa, deleted scenes and you can watch it as a directors version. I am very impressed. I am glad they finally gave this movie the attention to detail it deserved. It's fantastic!

Rating:
Summary: Why I Love Stargate
Review: Because I am a HUGE fan of the Showtime series Stargate SG-1, it only stands to reason that I would love the Stargate movie. The first time I watched it I could not get into it. Then, once I could view it with no interruptions, I was hooked. When I found the series on Showtime, I became their no. 1 fan. The movie laid the groundwork, the series has added multiple dimesions to this original premise...that the Egyptian gods were really aliens. I love them both, and so will anyone with an interest in Sci-Fi or Egytian mythology.

Rating:
Summary: As Non-Cliche As It Gets...
Review: Usually, I'd say Sci-Fi films only try to get us to "rethink" our normal views of reality [eg. Aliens, Ghosts, etc.], and that's cliche, but this movie's different. At first site, you probably thought "Well, there's the old alter-dimension theme," but it's quite different. The fact that its an alien planet adds to the mystique. I also liked the concepts it presented; especially the thought of a mortal God, and the theory that religion is just another attempt of man to feel fulfillment for all his hard work. The end wasn't all that surprising, but it was a give-away to the series.

As for all the claims that the only good quality of the film is the SFX [special effects]...people are entitled to their opinion, but it takes someone quite dense not to see the timeless theme of it. How many other movies are out their that have both inter-planetary loop-holes and pyramids in the same plot? As can obviously be seen, this movie is quite original in the making.

Rating:
Summary: Visually exciting...
Review: with a creative science fiction story behind it, Stargate is definitely worth a viewing. Emmerich couples outstanding visual effects with tremendous audio and some interesting special features on the DVD.

In the cast, both Spader and Jaye Davidson contribute strong performances. Spader is the everyman who is a specialist in some sort of obscure intelligentsia who gets confronted with action and involved with people when his science comes alive. He makes the right choices and has both the audience and the rest of the cast rooting for him as he stumbles into his eventual success. An interesting actor who can play a naive hero or a driven villain, Spader leads the way in this film. Jaye Davidson is chilling as the villain. Without words, his presence on screen can make you feel his lack of remorse and his willingness to do away with everything that comes between him and his final destiny.

Soldiers in the cast include the oft-cast Russell as the commander of the mission, in, what is typical for him, a "strong jaw" role.

Critics have challenged this movie as absurd and cliche, but after all, what is science fiction trying to accomplish? Stargate had success at the box office and on video precisely because of its entertainment value and the visual excitement generated by combining technology with a society that rivals the ancient Egyptians. Although you may rent instead of buy, you will enjoy this entertaining film, and may return to it again and again because it draws you in and keeps you entertained until the very last (and yes, it is a heart-warming finale!)

Try it, you'll like it!